You will be amazed at how easy it is to make your own cheese. A simple cream yogurt cheese spread can be ready for breakfast overnight. Mozzarella cheese is ready the same day its made and even the aged cheeses like Cheddar, Gouda and Colby are ready to eat in just a few weeks.

SEMI
HARD CHEESE RECIPESThe
following recipes will introduce you to the preparation of store bought
milk, the use of calcium chloride and rennet. You will also learn to cut
and cook the curd.

In
advance of preparing these recipes please make sure that you have a small
supply of distilled water on hand. You will need to dilute the calcium
chloride and rennet during the process and the use of tap or well water
is not recommended.

COTTAGE
CHEESE

1 gallon
skim milk

1 pint
heavy cream

1/4 teaspoon mesophilic-M

1/2 teaspoon calcium chloride

1/2 teaspoon liquid rennet

1/4 teaspoon
cheese salt

This
is an old fashioned large curd cottage cheese with a clean acid flavor
which will keep under refrigeration in an air tight container for up to
a week.

Combine
milk and cream then pasteurize the milk by heating in a double boiler until
the milk reaches 161oF (72ºC). Place the milk pot into a sink of cold water and cool to 85oF (29ºC). Stir in 1/4 teaspoon of Mesophilic-M. Let the milk set at 85oF for 30 minutes.

In
a glass dish combine 1/2 teaspoon of calcium chloride with 2 tablespoon
of cool distilled water. Add this mixture to the milk and stir gently for
30 seconds. Keep the temperature of the milk at 85oF (29ºC).

Add
1/2 teaspoon of liquid rennet to 5 tablespoons of cool water. Stir the
diluted rennet gently into the milk. Cover and allow the milk to set undisturbed
for 30-45 minutes at 85oF. The milk will become a solid
mass that shows a clean break. To test if the curd is done insert your
thermometer into the curd at an angle. If the curd breaks cleanly around
the thermometer, the curd is ready to be cut. If the curd is more like
a soft yogurt you need to wait longer before cutting.

Cut the curd into l/2 inch slices with a long bladed stainless steel knife. Turn the pot 90ºF (32ºC) and repeat the process. The top of the curd should look like crossword puzzle. Take a large spoon and gently break up the curd into 1/2" cubes. Be very gentle and do not make the pieces to small. Avoid mashing the curds together.

Slowly
heat the curd in a double boiler to 115oF by increasing the temperature of the curd 2ºF (1ºC)every five minutes up to 115oF.
Cooking the curd shrinks the size of the curd pieces by forcing water from
the cheese. The entire process can take from 1 to 1-l/2 hours.

Line
a colander with fine cheesecloth and pour the curds and whey into the colander.
Allow to drain for 5 minutes. Take the bag of curd and rinse in cool water.
This removes some more of the whey reduces the acidity on the cheese. Hang
the curd to drain the curd for one hour.

Remove
the cheese from the cheesecloth and place in a bowl. Break up the mass
into small pieces with your hands but do so gently. Mix in 1/4 teaspoon
salt and a little fresh cream if desired. Cover and refrigerate until ready
for use.

FETA
CHEESE

2 gallons goat or whole cows milk

1/4 teaspoon mesophilic-A

1/2 teaspoon calcium chloride

1/4 teaspoon liquid rennet

2 tablespoons
cheese salt

Classic
goat cheese is best when goat milk is used but a very good Feta can be
produced from whole cows milk.

Pasteurize
the milk and cool to 85oF (29ºC). In a glass dish combine 1/2 teaspoon of calcium chloride with 2 tablespoon of cool distilled water. Add this mixture to the milk and stir gently for 30 seconds. Keep the temperature of the milk at 85oF (29ºC).

Add
1/4 teaspoon of Mesophilic MA and stir gently. Let the milk set with cover
on at 85oF (29ºC) for 60 minutes.

Add
1/4 teaspoon of liquid rennet to 4 ounces of cool distilled water. Stir
the diluted rennet gently into the milk. Cover and allow the milk to set
undisturbed for 30 minutes or until the milk forms a solid curd that shows
a clean break. If the curd is more like a soft yogurt you need to wait
longer before cutting the curd.

Cut the curd into l/2 inch slices all the way across the pot. Turn the pot 90ºF (32ºC) and repeat the process.

Stir
the curd slowly every 10 minutes for 1 hour while gradually heating to
95oF (35ºC). After an hour of slow cooking, drain the whey by pouring through a colander. Let the curds drain for 1 hour. The curd will form back into a solid mass.

Cut
the curd into small blocks and turn it over in the colander. Let drain
for another 1/2 hour. Salting to taste is optional.

Pack
curd into a sterilized quart jar. Prepare a brine of 2 cups water and 2
tablespoons cheese salt. Pour the brine over the curd. Seal the jar and
let it sit in refrigerator for at least 2 weeks. The longer it ages, the
better it gets.